Ray Hollida, an application engineer with Innovative Signal Analysis Inc., of Richardson, Texas, which
makes the WAVcam series of surveillance camera
systems, said that imagery can bring an additional
dimension to sensor data displays.

Most information is platted on an X-Y axis.

“2-D maps can indicate geolocations of boundaries, terrain features, roads, structures, navigational
aids and other information. A ship contact on radar
can be displayed on the plat along with AIS information about the ship, and that contact can be tracked to
show where it’s been. Other layered information can
show entry points and data from TWIC [Transportation
Worker Identification Credential] card, license plate or
biometric data,” Hollida said.

Imagery can verify assumptions, and provide “groundtruth,” he said. “It is not unheard of for a vessel tobroadcast erroneous AIS data. Using video, the operatorcan verify the AIS data with known imagery.”Wide-area coverage cameras can see an incidentor cascading events as they unfold. There are differ-ent technologies to provide panoramic images, fromvery-wide-angle lenses to mosaics of many images“stitched” together.

Rotating cameras can provide 360-degree coverage, but usually are limited in range because it’s
harder to rotate a camera with a big lens. Another
solution is to use multiple cameras, each aimed
slightly offset a few degrees from the next one to
create a mosaic. A fish-eye or wide-angle lens can be
less expensive, but they are not
long-range solutions.

WAVcam’s beam-steering technology uses mirrors to steer the
video into a high-end camera and
takes multiple shots that together
provide a panoramic view.

“A Wide Area Surveillance
System based on beam-steering
technology gives you the best
of both worlds — long range,
high-resolution imagery and
a persistent panoramic field of
view,” Hollida said.

According to Jeff Nicholas of
FLIR Systems in Wilsonville, Ore.,
cameras can do it all.

“Cameras can give you pretty much everything
that a radar system can give you — including bearing,
range, geolocation, and it also gives you a visual picture,” he said.

Nicholas said that most cameras are GPS enabled, so
the camera’s position is known, and the laser rangefinder can provide distance to the target.

“Over a period of time, you establish a track, just
like a radar. It’s passive — it’s not an emitter. That can
be useful because someone call tell if they are being
scanned by radar. Just like radar, all that information
can go back into a central processing area and it can be
used to calculate a tactical picture, and if that tactical
picture is streamable on any other device,” he said.

Nicholas said cameras can help classify a specific
target.

“You can also look at it and you can tell what’s
happening on deck or on the pier,” he said.

“With the right software, cameras can provide awealth of information to include specifics such astarget visualization, validation, acquisition, tracking,classification, range and bearing. However, I believeone of the real strengths of a good surveillance systemis how it interacts with and supports other devices andsystems,” Hollida said. “High-quality imagery, radar,AIS, geographic information, weather and perimetersensors all contribute to the complex notion of mari-The reality is no single approach works for all situ-ations. Every waterway, port or facility is different, soeach requires a tailored solution. n

Edward Lundquist traveled to Vancouver and Nanaimo in
British Columbia; Richardson, Texas; and Port Canaveral,
Fla., to report this story.